puruṣa evedaṁ viśvaṁ karma tapo brahma parāmṛtam. etad yo veda nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ so’vidyāgranthiṁ vikiratīha somya. (2.1.10)
idam – this; viśvam – world; karma – rituals revealed by the Veda; tapaḥ – religious disciplines and meditation; brahma – Veda; puruṣa – is puruṣa; eva – alone; saḥ – the one; yaḥ – who; veda – knows; etat – this; parāmṛtam – limitless; nihitam – present; guhāyām – in the buddhi; vikirati – resolves; avidyā-granthim – the knot of ignorance; iha – here itself; somya – O pleasing one!
O pleasing one! The world consisting of Vedic rituals, religious disciplines and meditation, and Vedas is Brahman alone. The one who knows this limitless, timeless Brahman present in the buddhi, resolves the knot of ignorance here itself.
That Brahman is guhāyāṁ nihitam: abiding in the cave. The cave here is buddhi. Buddhi is compared to a cave because like a cave it is dark. One does not see anything inside a cave unless light is brought in. Brahma-vidyā is the light because of which one recognises Brahman in the buddhi.
~Dayananda
The Puruṣa alone is all this universe – the sacrificial works (karma) and knowledge (tapas). All this is Brahman, the highest and the immortal. O good looking youth! He who knows this as seated in the cavity of the heart, he unties the knot of ignorance even here.
Summarising these mantras mentioned above, Śruti is here declaring the spiritual conclusion that the entire world of names and forms, feelings and ideas is but a manifestation of the dynamic whole – the Puruṣa. Action and thought (knowledge) when combined together provide us with the different fields of activities called universe.
To know that this Puruṣa is the vital centre in the individual, man is to gain the true knowledge of the Self. Today to each one of us, our centre is false ego. To discover ourselves to be not the body, mind and intellect, that we are nothing but the spirit-centre – the Puruṣa, is to end all our self-made shackles, the chains of ignorance.
~Chinmayananda
The Purusha alone is verily the universe, which consists of work and austerity. O my good friend, he who knows this Brahman-the Supreme and the Immortal, hidden in the cave of the heart--cuts asunder even here the knot of ignorance.
The Upanishad began with a question regarding that by the knowing of which all can be known. The answer has been given. The universe and all things therein are born of Brahman, or the Supreme Self. They are nothing but Brahman. Therefore when one knows Brahman one knows the universe. This Knowledge is to be attained here on earth, when one still dwells in the body, by realizing the identity of the self with Brahman. Its attainment is known as jivanmukti, or Liberation in life.
~Nikhilananda
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